


Sweater Weather

by Lukutoukka



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Boyfriend sweaters, Epic Levels of Fluff, Getting Together, Multi, or are they?, summer shenanigans
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-04
Updated: 2018-12-04
Packaged: 2019-09-06 15:09:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16835086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lukutoukka/pseuds/Lukutoukka
Summary: In which a sweater (or three) act as a catalyst.





	Sweater Weather

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Denois](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Denois/gifts).



> I was procrasti-knitting all the way, but here we are! One fluffy polya piece for Denois – it was fun to write and I hope you like it!
> 
> My thanks to everyone involved in the Polya EpiFest, it wouldn't have been half has fun without y'all <3
> 
> Also, just to make this clear: This is a NHL AU in which they did not go to Samwell.

It starts with a sweater.

Well. Three sweaters, actually.

It’s just that it’s three times the same sweater and people notice.

***

Dex wears the sweater first, as far as everyone is concerned, which is to say he’s the first to wear the sweater in public and get photographed in it.

It’s a very nice, plain, dark blue norwegian wool sweater, with a white pattern on the shoulders, very plain. Dex bought it when he’d been in Norway for the World Cup with the US team. It’s warm, comfy, and practical and Dex loves it to death. Luckily, he plays in Boston, so he actually has a reason to own a sweater like that.

Unlike, say, Adam fucking Birkholtz, who plays with the Sharks in San Jose. People in California do not need sweaters like that.

Chowder – Birkholtz’ goalie, Dex’s ex-teammate & good friend, and sensible person that he is, points out that a) Birkholtz is from Buffalo and thus has reason to own a warm sweater or two, and b) he was wearing it while in Edmonton. Dex only grumbles in response, which makes Chowder laugh.

“Come on, Dex,” he says. “People own the same clothes all the time, it’s no biggie. I know you wouldn’t be opposed, but it’s not like he’s wearing _your_ sweater. It’s just a sweater that looks the same.”

Only then Justin fucking Oluransi starts wearing the sweater too. Chowder sends Dex a picture and everything. The everything includes a text that points out that Oluransi is from Toronto and _also_ plays for the Rangers. Dex grumbles at his phone, but he really loves the sweater, so he keeps wearing it. Apparently, some people begin to pick up on it, but it isn’t a big story and everyone’s got better things to talk about, and it dies down again.

It dies down enough that Dex kind of forgets about it, and wears the sweater on their off day between their games against the Islanders and the Rangers. That evening, he gets a text from a number he doesn’t know: It’s actually a picture – the “Same Hat!” meme, but someone badly photoshopped “sweater” over “hat”.

He sighs, long suffering, and sends back the spiderman picture, the one where two spider men are pointing at each other.

 _“:DDD,”_ he gets as in return and “ _see u 2morrow, poindexter”_

Oluransi, then.

 _“venibimus, videbimus, vincemus”_ he texts, and hopes Oluransi will get it. It takes a while, but finally his phone vibrates with a new text.

 _“u wish,”_ it says. It’s quickly followed by another text. _“wanna bet?”_

 _“stake?”_ he answers.

_“loser has 2 wear a superhero costume 4 post game interview?”_

_“add a joint visit to a hospital or sth and im in”_

_“deal,”_ Oluransi answers.

 _“deal,_ ” Dex repeats, unaware of the consequences this would have.

***

He wakes up the next morning to a text from Oluransi, reminding him to get himself a costume. Dex sighs and stops by the hotel reception on his way to breakfast, and a little while later, he holds a (rented) Superman costume in his hands.

Go big and all that, right?

As it turns out, he needn’t have worried – the game is hard and fast, but not only does Boston win, but Dex gets an assist point as well. In the handshake line after the game, Oluransi grins at him and tells him to make sure to watch the post-game interview.

Dex doesn’t catch it live, but when he looks it up later, Oluransi is wearing a Spiderman costume, mask and everything, and sounds like he’s working hard to suppress laughter the whole time.

***

 _“Holster wants in on it too,”_ reads the text that Oluransi sends a little while later, just before the two of them play each other and Dex can’t think of why that’s really tangent to him, but he sends back a _“sure, y not?”_ anyway.

As it turns out, Oluransi wrote _Holster wants in on it too_ , but what he really meant was _Holster and I have an elaborate plan on how we can balance this out between the three of us_. There’s a lot of excel involved, but what it boils down to is: Dex buys himself a costume (Superman, because why not) and takes it with him whenever he plays Ransom or Holster. Although the times he needs it are gratifyingly few and far between, he does need it the first time he plays Holster: The Bruins play a lousy game, Chowder gets a shutout, and Holster scores. He doesn’t feel very super when he gives his postgame interview in his Superman outfit, but they win their second game against the Sharks a little while later, and seeing Holster in his Batman costume is strangely satisfying – Holster is a good sport about losing and when he notices that Dex snuck into the room, he directs his blinding wink/grin combination in his direction. When asked about the costume, Holster explains the ongoing bet that started with the sweaters. 

The press loves it.

Ransom keeps them a list of who visits which hospital with whom, they have a group chat that becomes more active over time and slowly, so slowly Dex almost doesn’t notice, they become friends – he just wakes up one day to an ongoing discussion with Chowder about Holster’s pre-game rituals, a chat with Ransom comparing gifts for their respective siblings, five messages from Holster that don’t follow up on anything they’ve ever talked about before and a group chat with Ransom and Holster both that they all three use all the time.

***

So when Dex gets invited to Ransom’s cabin by the sea to spend part of the summer break with Ransom and Holster there, he is perhaps a little more surprised than he should’ve been.

Nevertheless, he accepts.

So after a rather graceless and disreputable first round exit in the playoffs, suffering through the end of season interviews and whatnot, and some time of ~~moping~~ lazing around and waiting for Holster (second round) and Ransom (Western Conference Final) to finish their season, he makes his way to Canada, to the cabin.

The cabin is a sturdy building, twenty minutes away from the nearest town, just basic and modest enough that it’s still a cabin rather than a full on summer house or something: two bedrooms, a big kitchen, a modern bathroom, and a boat on the dock.

Dex falls in love the second he pulls up in front of it, tires crunching on gravel, the smell of the sea, and the screech of seagulls. The cabin sits, picturesque, halfway up a small hill, still a decent distance away from the tree line.

He leaves his truck next to only other car in the drive – a middle-aged, but well-kept Range Rover – gets out of the car, and just stretches and stands for a long while, staring out at the horizon. The sun is shining, but there’s a slight breeze that makes it feel colder than it is.

When he makes his way inside, both Ransom and Holster are in the kitchen, preparing a late lunch, which they eat out on the terrace. There’s still the shadow of a black eye on Holster’s face and Ransom moves a little gingerly, but they look relaxed, lounging in the deck chairs. Dex thought he’d been relaxed before, but turns out he can relax some more.

For the next week, they spend their time lazing around, mostly on the boat. Dex works his way through the books he accumulated through the season on his eReader while sitting next to his fishing line. Holster fishes while Ransom naps. In between, they all go for a swim.

Dex and Ransom make it to the farmer’s market several times, always early in the morning. They take coffee with them in a thermos and bump together while discussing dinner plans in front of the stalls. Holster doesn’t join them, because he likes to sleep in. Ransom, on the other hand, is supposed to keep it slow, so he stays home while Dex and Holster go running in the late afternoon – chasing each other through the small patch of wood and into the sea. While they’re out, Ransom cooks. (Dinner is always amazing.)

After dinner, they put on the next couple of episodes of _Daredevil_ and huddle together on the pull out couch in the living room. Because otherwise there wouldn’t be space for all three of them on the couch, they end up pressed together or piled an arm or a leg on each other. Later, they turn the couch into a bed for Ransom, who insisted on giving Holster and Dex the bedrooms. They take turns in the bathroom, and then they go to bed.

In the mornings, Ransom is already making coffee when Dex gets up.

All in all, it’s surprisingly – domestic. Which is a weird word for a bro holiday, but it’s fitting.

Dex thinks that he can be forgiven for not noticing.

Not noticing that maybe Ransom and Holster are more touchy with each other than bros – even best bros – usually are. All the signs, small and big, were there – and maybe he should have seen them. But he didn’t.

So when he walks in on Ransom and Holster making out on the couch one morning to say he’s a little surprised is an understatement.

“Um,” he says, before he can stop himself. “Did you guys share the couch every night?”

The way Ransom and Holster flail apart would be rather amusing, if Dex wasn’t so focused on the fact that the two guys he just spend the last week or so with are apparently, well, something – and _he didn’t notice._

(At least the couch is big enough that neither Ransom nor Holster falls off.)

“Uhm,” Holster says.

“Of course not,” Ransom says, matter of fact. “I snuck into Holster’s bed after you were asleep.”

Dex can’t help but stare at the two of them. Did they seriously sneak around him for the last week, as if they were back in highschool? And more importantly –

“Why were you sneaking around like that? You do know that I am gay, right? Like, I didn’t keep that much of a secret around you?”

“We, uh, didn't quite know where to start.”

“Or end.”

“But we were gonna tell you?”

“No I –” Dex stops himself and tries to gather his thoughts. “It’s – I’m not saying that I expected you to tell me about you or anything, just… Just that you didn’t need to sneak around? Which I think is kind of the same? But also not? I’m just… I’m just gonna go make coffee, I think.” 

He doesn’t wait for an answer from Ransom and Holster, just flees to the kitchen. He doesn’t even really look at them, strangely upset.

He doesn’t mind his friends being together. He doesn’t mind them not telling him.

Well, he minds a little, but they’re professional hockey players, he gets it.

His hands go through the motions of making coffee, but his thoughts are all over the place – visiting the farmer’s market with Ransom, chasing Holster through the trees, comments that could’ve been innocent, but also not, hands that lingered just a tad too long – he minds that he feels like they’d been flirting with him. Toying with him?

His hands still on the coffee machine and he concentrates on breathing. He hadn’t even realised…

“Dex?”

Dex doesn’t turn around, keeps his back to Ransom.

“You were flirting with me, weren’t you?”

The design of the coffee machine is really interesting.

“Yeah, we were.”

He traces his finger along the foot of the machine.

“Why?”

“Because we like you. Flirting seemed fun.”

“And harmless.”

Dex considers his options: out the door, out the window, turn around and talk – or continue inspecting the coffee maker. Since he has to walk past Ransom and Holster to go out through the door and he doesn’t really want to go through the window just yet, his options are severely limited. He takes a deep breath and turns around.

“So for sports?”

“No!”

Both Ransom and Holster look upset by his question, but Dex isn’t sure he cares a whole lot right now.

“Then why?”

Ransom and Holster exchange a look, before Holster blurts out: “Because we’re dumbasses.”

Ransom nods. “That we are. Look it’s – we didn’t know how to raise the topic?”

“What topic? There’s a topic to raise?” Dex asks. He feels as if he’s two steps behind Ransom and Holster in this conversation.

“About the three of us,” Ransom says and Holster nods along this time. “As in, the three of us in a relationship.”

Dex blinks at them. “I… I think I need you to explain.”

Ransom and Holster explain.

***

He isn’t sure why, but afterwards, Dex expects things to change, somehow.

They don’t.

Well, they do, but not a lot. It’s just that now, when Ransom hands him the thermos in the morning, he’ll get a kiss too. Holster’ll reward him with a kiss when Dex is the faster one, and in turn he’ll demand a kiss from Dex when he wins. Their Netflix sessions turn more into make out sessions.

And they don’t bother with any bed other than the one in the master bedroom anymore.

***

On the first day of training camp for the Sharks, Dex gets a picture from Chowder that shows Holster – wearing one of Dex’s old shirts, stretched thin over Holster’s more muscular frame.

Chowder follows up with _“isn’t this ur shirt?”_ and Dex grins like a lunatic as he sends back _“yes. yes it is.”_


End file.
